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The beauty of Labour’s position on Brexit was not that the party had any specific answers, but that they were offering everything to all people.

The manifesto remained cleverly ambiguous – free movement of people would stop and European Union trade should remain tariff-free, it stated, but there was no definitive answer on whether to exit the single market and customs union.

Despite the non-committal approach of the manifesto, it didn’t stop Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell taking to the airwaves to tell political chat show hosts that Labour supported leaving the single market, only for Shadow Brexit Secretary Keir Starmer, a week later, to muddy the waters further by saying all options remained open.

The situation caused confusion but the one-size-fits-all approach to Brexit also helped the party.

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It allowed Jeremy Corbyn and his team to appeal to a wide group of people – from those who were pro-Brexit but wary of the Conservatives, all the way to those who want to make Britain’s exit as soft as possible – and boost their support, producing the shock hung parliament result after the General Election.

But Labour are no longer bluffing to the electorate. Mr Starmer has now confirmed that it is Labour’s position to remain members of the single market and the customs union, paying for access to both, for a period of two to four years after the April 2019 Brexit date as part of a transitional arrangement.

Such an arrangement has been ruled out by the Government, stating that any agreed transitional arrangement must fall outside the current single market arrangements.

On top of his party’s latest offer, Mr Starmer also said the party would look at whether it could be possible to remain in the single market long-term after Brexit – as long as the UK had the right to abolish or reform freedom of movement.

Mr Starmer, in an editorial in The Observer in which he set out his vision, said that retaining membership of the single market was a “grown-up acknowledgement” that a post-Brexit future and a transitional arrangement was unlikely to be agreed in just 18 months of negotiations.

By accepting the status quo for a few more years (possibly until 2023), the Shadow Cabinet member said it would allow negotiators to focus on the final Brexit outcome while providing “certainty” to businesses that “goods and services could continue to flow between the EU and the UK without tariffs, customs checks or additional red tape” in the interim.

Some anti-Brexit MPs in Labour’s number were ecstatic at the news. But while a transitional deal in which nothing much changes could be music to the ears of Humber exporters, true Brexiteers may take exception with such a deal.

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Paying the EU cash to remain part of its club and to remain under the influence of European judges is not what many people in North East Lincolnshire voted for – not for the long haul, anyway.

Great Grimsby MP Melanie Onn

Labour Grimsby MP Melanie Onn was unavailable for comment for this piece, but she has regularly voted for Brexit in Parliament, while stressing the importance of the customs union and lack of trade hold-ups for the seafood processing industry.

It is unclear, however, whether Ms Onn would back a single market-type arrangement to be put in place of full EU membership – although, as the shadow housing minister, she would be bound to support a front bench policy, or face having to resign.

Those on the other side of the political spectrum are clear about how they perceive Labour’s pronouncement though – it is a sure way of losing their Brexit supporters on the South Bank of the Humber.

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Martin Vickers, Cleethorpes’ Eurosceptic Conservative MP, said Labour had backtracked on their General Election position.

“This is a complete U-turn on what the Labour Party were promising the electorate at the General Election [in June],” said Mr Vickers.

“They claimed they would honour the referendum result. It was made very clear that a Leave vote would mean no longer being under the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice, an end to free movement of labour, and that we would have complete control over our economy and trade policy – and that would involve leaving the single market.

“The Labour Party, at the General Election, were saying they would honour that and they said they would leave the single market.

“Jeremy Corbyn even sacked front bench spokesmen only a matter of weeks ago for backing an amendment to stay in the single market.

“This is clearly a U-turn and a complete disregard for voters and constituents like mine and those in neighbouring Grimsby where 70 per cent of people voted for Brexit.

“They will now, quite rightly, be angry about the stance being taken by the Labour Party when they perhaps trusted them during the General Election campaign. Their manifesto commitments have been ditched.”

Martin Vickers

Mr Vickers said the Government was “clear on what the aims and objectives are”, having released a series of Brexit position papers over the last fortnight, stating what the UK’s future hopes are for everything to a future customs arrangement to dealing with divorce proceedings between British and EU nationals.

Despite claims by the likes of chief European negotiator Michel Barnier and European Commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, that the UK is not properly prepared, Mr Vickers said he believes individual national leaders will see things differently.

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“It won’t be the European Commission that makes the final decision. It will be [German Chancellor] Angela Merkel, [French President] Emmanuel Macron and the other leading politicians,” said the Tory backbencher.

“They know it is in their interests, as much as Britain’s, to allow a continuation of the trading and economic links between the overseas countries.

“I think we can take with a pinch of salt anything that Michel Barnier or Donald Tusk [EU Council President], or anyone like them, are coming out with now. The big decisions will be made by the politicians.”

Business figures have, understandably, been less effusive either way as the political posturing continues to take shape.

They want to know what they are getting out of any exit deal before backing either side. Even those in the business community who were for Brexit will not want a final outcome that disrupts their profits.

A spokesman for the Hull and Humber Chamber of Commerce said there was still, even with Labour’s announcement of their policy position, a lack of clarity for businesses in the region.

“The uncertainty isn’t good for business and business owners would like a degree of certainty about the way we are heading – and we haven’t got that at the moment,” said the chamber’s spokesman.

“We continue to consult with our members through our area councils and are keeping a watching brief on developments as they happen.”

David Davis, the Brexit Secretary, is in Brussels all week trying to push the EU negotiations on in what, most commentators agree, has been a tough process for the veteran politician and his team.

As he struggles on the Continent, Mr Corbyn’s Labour are finally offering alternatives. But as they move from ambiguity to clarity on Brexit, it could well cost them the votes they won only two months ago.